Halloween Hijinks
by Dutchtralian Twins
Summary: After Lurlinemas and Valentine's Day, the gang is now about to celebrate Halloween. As usual, chaos ensues. Shiz-era, Fiyeraba, and AU.
1. Parties and Lederhosen

**AN: Hi everyone, we're back! (For now, at least.) Elizabeth and I teamed up again for a Halloween-themed series of one-shots. Since we've both been (and still are) busy, we couldn't start posting until today and will probably continue until well after Halloween... but we're hoping you can forgive us for that ;).**

**Elizabeth's prompt for me was this: "Elphaba challenges Fiyero to wear Lederhosen for an Oktoberfest-themed campus Halloween party. Fiyero initially balks, but just as he agrees to it, Boq comes up wearing a pair of his own." You can imagine how much fun I had writing this!**

**Maddy**

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><p><strong>Parties and Lederhosen<strong>

"So, Elphie," Galinda said casually as she hopped onto her bed, legs dangling, "it's Halloween tomorrow."

Elphaba nodded, not looking up from the book she was reading. "It is."

"Which means there are going to be a _lot _of parties."

"Uh-uh."

"Parties we will be going to."

"Parties _you _will be going to," Elphaba corrected her roommate.

Galinda frowned and bounded over to the other bed, perching on the edge of it. "Elphie, would you put that blasted book down and just _talk _to me?" she demanded. "What are you reading, anyway?" She snatched the book from her roommate's hands and flipped through the pages. Her eyes started shining when she realised what this was, exactly.

"Oh my Oz, Elphie," she squealed. "You and Fiyero's scrapbook! That is adorable!" She tried to read it, but Elphaba quickly took it back.

"Off-limits," she said sternly, dodging Galinda's swatting and groping hands. "This is private."

"I can't believe you two have been together almost a year already," Galinda sighed. "It is _so _romantic. Those necklaces he gave you for Lurlinemas, and the date he planned for Valentine's Day…" She trailed off when she realised what else had happened that Valentine's Day. "Um… well, that _would _have been totally romantic, if… um… you know."

Elphaba chuckled. "I know, Glin. I remember. I was there. It's okay, really." She looked at the scrapbook and smiled. "We worked it out."

"I'm so glad you did." Galinda beamed at her. "Imagine you having stayed mad at Fiyero forever! You would never have had your six-month anniversary and you'd never have gotten that jewellery set that matches the icicle necklace he gave you for Lurlinemas. And it is such a _pretty _set, Elphie."

"Yes," Elphaba deadpanned. "That would have been my biggest loss if I hadn't given Fiyero another chance. The jewellery he would have given me."

Galinda nodded earnestly. "I'm just saying."

"You're just saying what?" asked Fiyero, who just came into the room with Boq following on his heels. The latter flushed a little upon seeing Galinda, which everyone noticed except for Galinda herself.

"Nothing," Elphaba answered for her roommate, putting the scrapbook away and moving over to Fiyero to kiss him on the lips. He smiled and made to draw her into his arms; but just then, Galinda lunged for the scrapbook again and Elphaba had to dive on top of it to keep the blonde from grabbing it.

"Galinda!" she cried. "What part of 'private' don't you understand?!"

"I'm just curious!" Galinda defended herself. "And it's not like there's anything weird in there, is there?" Her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait," she breathed. "Did you and Fiyero…? Is _that _what you have in there that you don't want me to see? Some kind of detailed description of the two of you –"

"_That _is quite enough, Galinda," Elphaba snapped at her roommate. Boq was gaping at Elphaba and Fiyero with his mouth open and Fiyero himself looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Galinda giggled. "Ooh, now I understand why you won't let me –"

"We did nothing, okay?" Elphaba climbed onto her bed and put the scrapbook away on the highest shelf she could reach, knowing that Galinda was smaller and wouldn't be able to reach it at all. "And even if we did, I would _not _write down detailed descriptions of it anywhere, so there's no need for you to look so hopeful."

Fiyero looked bewildered. "What is this all about?"

"Elphie was looking at her scrapbook," Galinda explained, giggling, "and she refused to let me look at it, so I just assumed there was something in there she didn't want me to see."

"Let's just go," said Elphaba, linking her arm with Fiyero's and dragging him out of the room. "We'll be late for class."

He smiled softly at her as they walked down the stairs together. "You were looking at our scrapbook?"

She blushed a little and leant her head against his shoulder. "Every day," she confessed. "Usually before bed, but I had some time left before you'd be there and so I dug it out." She looked up at him. "Do you realise it's almost been a year?"

A goofy smile spread across his face. "Yeah." He glanced at her apprehensively. "So suppose I would ask Galinda for advice on planning something special for our one-year anniversary…" he began, only half-joking.

She whacked his arm, but she was laughing. "I promise you I will not jump to conclusions again when I see you being all mysterious with Galinda."

He laughed, too, and kissed her temple. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"So," he said casually, "do you have any plans this weekend?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?" he asked when he saw the look she had on her face. Then he realised what was most likely going on and he grimaced. "Galinda beat me to it, didn't she?"

"I already told her no," Elphaba said, crossing her arms, "and I'm going to tell you the same thing. I'm not going to any parties this weekend, Yero."

He pouted. "But there is this Oktoberfest-themed party on Friday, and –"

"Wait." She held up two hands. "Oktoberfest?"

"It's this thing they celebrate in Gillikin," he said. "Traditional clothing and stuff like that. It's supposed to be really cool, and a lot of people are going."

"I know what Oktoberfest is, Fiyero," she said irritably. "I was just asking myself why in Oz you would want to drag me to an Oktoberfest-themed party."

"Elphie, please?" Galinda chirped from behind them, where she was skipping along next to Boq. "I already have my outfit picked out – I could get you a matching one! I've got a white blouse and a black corset, very amazifying, and a really short skirt – _green_, in your honour. Aren't I nice? And high heels, of course." She paused for a second and tilted her head a little to the side. "You know? The boys should totally wear _Lederhosen_."

Slowly, a devilish grin spread across Elphaba's face.

"Fiyero," she began innocently.

He scowled at her. "No."

"But Yero," she pouted and made big eyes at him in her best impression of Galinda's puppy look, "I would so _love _to see you in –"

"_No_. Never."

"Pretty please, FiFi?" Galinda chimed in. "They'll look _great _on you!"

"I'll look ridiculous!"

"You thought wearing white jodhpurs was a good idea," Elphaba pointed out. "And you looked ridiculous in those, too."

"Hey!" Fiyero protested, but the girls were giggling now.

"I'll make you a deal, Yero," said Elphaba, slipping her fingers into his. "I'll come with you to that Oktoberfest party and I will even let Galinda dress me up in a ridiculous outfit, but only if you promise to wear _Lederhosen_."

"I love _Lederhosen_," Galinda declared. "I think they look sexy on men."

Elphaba was stifling laughter. Fiyero gave her an unhappy look and Boq just looked uncomfortable at the entire conversation.

Elphaba patted her boyfriend's arm. "Just think about it."

He did – because he did anything for his girlfriend, even thinking about wearing a pair of extremely embarrassing trousers to a party. As they were sitting in class, he watched her, as he quite often did.

He was still so grateful that she had given him another chance last Valentine's Day. They had only been in the early stages of their relationship and she had still been so insecure about everything… and he had been so brainless. He didn't deserve her, he knew that, but he was happy to have her nonetheless. He loved her. He had known, even back then, that she was the love of his life; and he had only become more sure of that the longer they had been together.

They fought, of course. Between his brainlessness and her temper, they clashed sometimes. But those fights never lasted long and they didn't happen too often. He felt like they had both grown more secure in their relationship and he was happy about that. Elphaba still had trouble believing that he really loved her sometimes, but he felt like he was starting to convince her.

She caught him looking at her and raised an eyebrow inquiringly. He smiled and took her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, too.

Yes, he decided. He would do anything for her. Even dressing up in a pair of ridiculous _Lederhosen_.

"Fae?" he said after class, when they were getting ready for lunch with the others.

She looked at him. "Yes?"

He sighed, but said, "I'll do it."

She blinked at him for a moment, not understanding. "You'll do what?"

"I'll dress up in _Lederhosen_," he said, watching a smirk slowly spreading across her face. She chortled and kissed his cheek.

"You won't regret it."

"I already do."

"Well," she said, slipping her arms around his neck, "I might just decide to reward you."

He grinned at her. "I like the sound of that. Does this reward involve a detailed description of a certain act in our scrapbook, like Galinda said?"

"Fiyero!" she cried indignantly, pulling away. He quickly caught her and pulled her back into his arms, though. "I didn't mean that!"

He laughed. "Oh, come on, Fae, I know that. I was just joking." He planted a kiss on her hair, which melted her. A little.

"I was planning on staying over in your room tonight after the party," she said, crossing her arms and raising her chin, "but I guess that's off now."

His face fell. "Aw, Fae…" She refused to stay over at his place too often; but the nights she did were the happiest of his life. He loved nothing more than going to sleep with her in his arms and waking up that exact same way, with her breathing softly against him and her scent engulfing him. They had shared a bed in the Emerald City after their date and ever since then, he had been all but addicted to sleeping with her… in the literal sense, obviously.

She smirked at him now. "Just wear those _Lederhosen_ tonight and I'll think about it."

They had reached the cafeteria by then and Fiyero held open the door for her, which earned him another eye roll and a smile. When they approached the table Nessarose, Ryyrrika, and Galinda were sitting at and saw the person standing there, however, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Boq?" Elphaba eventually choked out. The person turned around and Elphaba promptly burst out laughing.

Fiyero could only gape at the Munchkin in shock.

"Yes," Ryyrrika said to the prince. "That was my reaction, too."

"And mine," said Nessarose, "though all Galinda has done so far is giggle."

"Boq," Fiyero said slowly, still staring at the other boy. "What in Oz' name are you wearing?!"

"Well," the Munchkin said, fidgeting a little, "I overheard Miss Galinda saying she, um, she thought that men in _Lederhosen _were, um… sexy… so I thought, um…"

Elphaba's laughter turned into hiccupping cackles. Galinda was trying to hide her giggling and her flushed face behind her napkin, but failing miserably. The other two boys and Nessarose were still staring, unsure of what to say, exactly.

"Don't you think I look s-sexy, Miss G-Galinda?" Boq stuttered, his face slowly growing redder and redder.

Galinda, however, was too busy giggling to even be able to answer that.


	2. Pranks and scares

**AN: Hello! Hope you're all well.**

**Maddy's prompt for me for this one-shot was... "Galinda tries to scare Elphaba for Halloween, only Elphaba is not so easily impressed. Galinda then enlists Boq's help." It was a bit difficult to come up with ideas at first, but then it fell into place, as these things always do. Hope you all like it!**

**Elizabeth.**

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><p><strong>Pranks and scares<strong>

She was still on a high, perhaps a little tipsy, and could not stop giggling. The party may have been over, but that didn't mean that fun had to cease, did it? Nah, of course not. But how could she perpetuate the fun? That was the real problem.

Opening the door, Galinda entered her dorm room to find Elphaba lying spread-eagled on her bed, fast asleep. The blonde frowned. She knew Elphaba had left a bit earlier, but had imagined she would spend the night with Fiyero. Maybe the party had been too much for her.

As she tiptoed towards the bathroom, a sneaky idea came to her, causing her eyes to light up and a small giggle to escape her lips. She knew just how to keep having fun for a little longer.

After cleaning off her make-up and preparing for bed, Galinda dug around in her drawers until she found what she was looking for. She then switched off the lights, slipped the tape into the cassette player and pressed 'play'. Galinda adjusted the volume so that it wasn't so soft it wouldn't be heard, but wouldn't be so loud that it would have an effect other than that which she was looking for; then she hopped into bed and waited.

After a few moments, sounds began to emerge from the speakers. _Creak, creak, squeak…rustle, creak, rustle, creak…_and so on until finally there was a _bang_.

To Galinda's great disappointment, Elphaba did not stir.

With a sigh, she got up to rewind the tape and replayed it.

_Squeak, creak, creak…bang!_

Still no reaction.

The fourth time Galinda got up to fix the tape, she was startled when Elphaba's voice floated over to her. "You know, you're going to have to try harder than that if you want to scare me."

Galinda spun around in surprise. "I thought you were asleep!"

"Evidently."

"But you weren't?"

"No."

"But why didn't you say something?"

"Because it was too amusing listening to you try to scare me."

Galinda emitted a low growl. "Well, thanks for making me look silly."

"No-one's here to see."

There was a huff as Galinda threw herself onto her bed.

"You really wanted to scare me that badly?" asked Elphaba.

"Well…"

"Okay, how about this: I was considering going over to Fiyero's anyway, so why don't I go over there now and leave you alone to think up a really good way to scare me, hmmm?" Elphaba proposed.

Galinda pouted. "But then you will be expecting it and so it won't have any effect when it happens…"

"I think that would depend on what it is," Elphaba said, getting up and heading for the door. "Goodnight, Galinda."

* * *

><p>"Biq!"<p>

Boq turned around to find Galinda waving at him, and a big grin lit up his face as he tottered over to say "h-hello".

"Biq, I was wondering if I could ask a favour of you…" Galinda began, twirling her hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes slightly.

Boq coloured slightly. "You want _my_ help?"

"Oh, thankyou, Biq – I knew I could count on you." Galinda beamed and kissed Boq's cheek.

"Ummm…sure?" Boq replied, slightly confused. "W-what exactly am I h-helping you w-with, Miss Ga-Galinda?"

Galinda leant over and whispered conspiratorially in his ear, "Scaring Elphie."

Startled, Boq pulled away and looked at Galinda, before bursting out laughing.

"What?" Galinda demanded.

"Scaring Elphaba? Good luck with that!"

"Which is why," Galinda said smoothly, "I'm asking you. You're my good luck charm."

Boq turned red from head to toe and looked like he was about to faint. His mouth tried to form words, but no sound emerged from his throat.

Galinda swallowed a giggle. "Good, that's settled, then."

* * *

><p>Elphaba gradually became aware of light penetrating her eyelids, and buried her head in protest, eliciting a chuckle from Fiyero.<p>

"What?" Elphaba groaned.

"Just you."

Elphaba heard the smile in his voice and demanded indignantly, "What about me?"

"I just love how you always do that."

"Always do what?"

"As soon as you wake up, you always bury your face in my armpit. It's like you think the hairs there are so dark they'll block out all the light."

"Well, that's not why I do it, but won't they?"

"Probably," Fiyero admitted. "So why _do_ you do it, then?"

Elphaba shrugged. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I just do."

Fiyero chuckled and ran his fingers through Elphaba's silky hair.

After a few minutes of cuddling, the pair decided they had better get up and seek out some breakfast.

"And then," Elphaba said to Fiyero on the way to the cafeteria, "I'm going to see if Galinda has had any progress."

"In what?" asked Fiyero.

Elphaba explained about Galinda wanting to scare Elphaba but being unsuccessful with the first attempt.

"Doesn't she know you're not the type to be easily scared?"

Elphaba grinned. "I think that, in her inebriated state, she genuinely thought that tape was scary. I told her she'd have to work a bit harder than that. Besides, I was awake the whole time – I knew what she was doing."

"If you thought Galinda was brainless sober," Fiyero intoned, pretended to be an advertising man, "you should she her when she's drunk!"

Elphaba laughed. "It's probably best _not_ to see her drunk. It can be highly disturbing."

Fiyero grinned. "The boys probably don't notice that, though."

"True," Elphaba admitted.

* * *

><p>"So what are we doing again?" Boq asked, trying to avoid looking at Galinda so that he didn't stutter.<p>

Galinda sighed impatiently. "We're making a scrapbook for Elphie."

"Why? Is it her birthday soon?"

"No, it's to scare her."

"How will a scrapbook scare her?"

"Because," Galinda explain through gritted teeth, "it's going to look like the one Fiyero gave her, only when she opens it up, it's going to be full of scary pictures."

"I'm sure scary pictures alone won't make Elphaba scared."

"Which is why we're making them pop-up pictures."

"Oh." Boq paused. "Isn't this a little…elaborate?"

"Scaring Elphie requires elaborateness."

"I meant, do you want to scare her that badly?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because…because…because no-one ever has!"

Boq turned to quirk an eyebrow at her, before realizing that wasn't a good move. "That's a funny re-reason t-to…uh, uh, to, uh…I mean…" His stammer was back. And what _did_ he mean?

Galinda looked up at him and smiled. "Oh, Biq," she cooed sweetly, ruffling his hair.

Boq blushed.

* * *

><p>When Elphaba entered her dorm room that evening, she was confused to see her scrapbook lying on her bedside table. "Funny," she muttered, "I could have sworn I put that…" She trailed off. "Galinda?" she called. "Galinda, did you look at my scrapbook?" There was no reply, and Elphaba could find neither hide nor hair of Galinda Upland. "Bloody girl," Elphaba grumbled. "She's going to hear about this."<p>

Elphaba went about her usual routine: homework, studying, preparing for bed. Just before she settled down to go to sleep, she reached over and picked up her scrapbook. However, when she opened to the first page, Elphaba raised her eyebrow at what she found inside. Then her eyes narrowed. "Galinda," she hissed. She slammed the book shut and waited for Galinda to come home.

Galinda slowly opened the door and looked around inside. No sign of Elphaba. Good. That probably meant it worked and she went over to see Fiyero.

The blonde tiptoed as best she could in heels over to the video camera she had hidden under her bed and was just reaching to turn it off when Elphaba's voice startled her.

"Have a good evening?"

Galinda jumped and spun around. "Elphie! I didn't see you there. You gave me such a fright."

"Did you have a good evening?" Elphaba repeated, her voice tight.

"Yes, I did, thanks." Galinda tried to smile, but it wavered as she began to wonder how angry being frightened might have made Elphaba.

"Good – because I didn't."

Galinda decided to play the innocent. "Didn't you? Why's that? Did you and Fiyero have a fight?"

"I think you know very well why I didn't have a good evening," Elphaba said through gritted teeth.

"No, no, I don't…"

"It was because of _this_." Elphaba shoved the open scrapbook into Galinda's face, prompting her to emit a small squeak a jump back involuntarily. "You did this, didn't you?"

Galinda flushed. "Uh, well –"

"How low can you get? I thought you were my friend, Galinda! Friends don't do that!" Elphaba's voice rose until she was yelling at the small blonde. "I can't believe you actually ruined my scrapbook! How would you like it if I did that to you, huh? Did you ever stop to think how much doing this would break my heart?"

"What?" Galinda whispered, her eyes wide. "No, Elphie, you've got it all wrong!"

"Have I?"

"Yes, you do! It was a joke! I was just trying to scare you a little!"

"You thought _this_ would be acceptable as a _joke_? You really have no brain, do you? You didn't scare me: you have just made me very, very angry. If you wanted to end our friendship, you could have just said! Instead, you went destroyed my most prized possession. Well, thankyou very much, _Galinda_," she spat, seething. "I get the hint."

"But I _didn't_ destroy your scrapbook!" Galinda said desperately. "That isn't your book!"

Elphaba stopped for a moment and looked at her. "What?"

Galinda shook her head and pointed to Elphaba's shelf. "_That_ is your book. We just made one that looked like it but filled it with scary pictures. You challenged me to scare you, and that's what I came up with."

"You… Wait, 'we'? Who helped you?" Elphaba demanded.

Galinda bit her lip.

Elphaba loomed closer. "_Who helped you_?"

After a moment, Galinda finally broke. "Boq."

"I feel like I say this a lot, but he is one dead Munchkin."

"But it was all my idea!" Galinda cried. "I'm sorry. It was my idea. But I needed his help to get it done quickly. So I –"

"Charmed him?"

"– roped him in."

Elphaba was quiet for a moment. "So this isn't my scrapbook?"

"No. That is, the one on the shelf. Right where you put it."

Throwing Galinda one last suspicious glance, the green girl climbed up and pulled down the book. She opened it to check, and when she saw that it was indeed her book, she hugged it to her chest in relief and closed her eyes, fighting back tears.

"I'm sorry, Elphie," Galinda said softly. "I didn't think you'd react like that…I didn't expect you to jump to conclusions like that. I thought you'd see it for what it was – a harmless joke. At least, I thought it was harmless…"

Elphaba shook her head. "Maybe I was wrong…maybe I should have looked on the shelf first. I'm sorry for jumping to those conclusions."

"You do know I would never do anything like that to you…don't you?" Galinda asked tentatively. "You're my bestest friend."

Elphaba shrugged slightly. "Yeah, I guess I know that," she said quietly.

"Are we okay?"

"Yeah, Galinda," Elphaba relented with a tired sigh, "we're okay."

"Hug?" Galinda asked holding out her arms.

"Maybe later," Elphaba said, climbing into her bed. "I just want to be left alone right now."

Galinda sniffled. "I'm really sorry, Elphie."

Elphaba nodded but didn't say anything.

Feeling terrible, Galinda slowly made her way into the bathroom. She was so distracted by her guilty thoughts that she hopped in the shower, completely forgetting to clean off her make-up first.

By the time she had finished showering, her face was covered with black streaks. Oblivious to this, she went over to Elphaba once more to apologize. "Goodnight, Elphie," she whispered. "I really am sorry."

"It's okay, Glin," she said, looking up at Galinda's face.

Elphaba opened her mouth and screamed.


	3. Ghosts and candy

**AN: Thank you all for your reviews! They are very much appreciated :).**

**Elizabeth's prompt for me this time was "The group is divided between going trick-or-treating or going to a haunted house, so they decide to compromise & go trick-or-treating IN a haunted house".**

**Enjoy!**

**Maddy**

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><p><strong>Ghosts and candy<strong>

"Elphie," Galinda declared, "you look _amazifying_."

Elphaba looked in the mirror, clearly uncertain. "You think?" She inspected her reflection. Long, black dress. Black, pointed hat. Broomstick. Galinda had accentuated her eyes with black eyeliner and her lips were as red as blood.

"Absolutely," Galinda nodded as she joined her friend in front of the mirror. "You're the most perfectified witch _ever_."

"Well, thanks." Elphaba glanced at her roommate. "You, um… make a very cute… cat."

Galinda was dressed all in white – white dress, white tights, white boots. She had attached a white tail to her skirt and was wearing a headband with two white cat's ears in her hair, which she had pulled back into a ponytail. She had painted whiskers on her face, too.

"Now you're the witch," Galinda said, beaming at her friend, "and I'm your cat."

"Don't witches usually have black cats?" Elphaba asked as she made her way over to her bed to stuff some final things she might need into her bag.

Galinda was quiet for a moment, then tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. "Shut up, Elphie."

She spent the next half hour painting her nails and checking her make-up before Elphaba finally dragged her out of the room.

"Fiyero, Boq, Nessa, and Ryyrrika will be waiting," she pointed out. "You look fine, Glin. Amazing, even. Now let's go."

"I can't wait to see what the others dressed up as!" Galinda gushed as she bounced down the stairs ahead of Elphaba. "And I can't wait to go trick-or-treating!"

Elphaba stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

"Trick-or-treating," Galinda said, turning around to look at her friend. "You do know what that is, don't you? Ringing doorbells, asking for candy…"

Elphaba shook her head. "Of course I know what it is," she said irritably, "but I'm not going to do it."

Galinda pouted. "But Elphie!"

"No." Elphaba shook her head again. "We're adults, Galinda – even though some of us don't always act that way," she added under her breath. "We're not going to ring people's doorbells and ask for candy like a bunch of five-year-olds."

Galinda sniffed and turned on her heels. "Well, let's see what the rest think, shall we?"

The others turned out to be already waiting just outside the dorm building. Nessarose looked like a fairy, with a light green, glittering dress, her jewelled shoes, and a pair of wings attached to the back of her chair. Fiyero had dressed up like a zombie, wearing rags and having painted fake wounds and scars on his face and arms. Ryyrrika, who would also be joining them, was wearing a top hat and a long, black coat.

Boq had thrown a white sheet over his head and cut out two holes for his eyes.

Elphaba instantly burst out laughing when she saw him and he frowned at her – or so she thought. She couldn't really tell, due to the sheet covering his face.

"I told you," Fiyero said to the Munchkin. "This was your chance to wear something sexy and impress Galinda, and you blew it."

"Oh, Biq," Galinda giggled, patting his sheet-covered head, "I think you look extremely cute."

They couldn't say for sure, but they all just _knew _that Boq's face was bright red right now. "T-Thank you, M-Miss Ga-Galinda," he stuttered and she giggled at him again before turning to face the others.

"Okay," she said. "Who's up for a night of trick-or-treating?"

"Me!" Fiyero and Boq both cried enthusiastically.

Elphaba folded her arms in front of her chest and glared at her boyfriend. "How old are you?" she demanded. "Four?"

He had the decency to look sheepish.

Ryyrrika cocked his head a little to the side. "I thought we were going to visit a haunted house."

Fiyero's eyes lit up. "Ooh, haunted house!"

"Are you sure?" Nessarose asked hesitantly. "I mean… isn't that dangerous?"

"Or scary?" Boq added. When the others all looked at him, he quickly said, "Not that I'm so easily scared, but, um…"

"Don't worry, it's completely safe," Ryyrrika told Nessarose, taking her hand in his. "And besides, I'm there with you. You have nothing to be afraid of."

She smiled up at him and nodded. "Alright, then."

"I know a place," Fiyero offered. "It's only a ten-minute walk from campus – it's that house on the hill, not too far from here."

"Wait!" Boq cried. "Can't we just go trick-and-treating? Please?"

"I agree," said Galinda, looking a little pale. "Haunted houses are scary."

"Aw, please, Glin?" Fiyero begged, making puppy eyes at her. "This one is really cool, I promise – they made it some sort of attraction for these weeks around Halloween. I've heard about it and it's supposed to be super-awesome."

"Attraction?" Nessa asked and Fiyero nodded. He didn't tell the others that the 'attraction' part of the haunted house involved not only a ride through the house past all kinds of scary things, but also people having dressed up specifically to scare the guests.

Galinda still looked hesitant. "But the trick-and-treating…"

"You know what?" Elphaba sighed irritably. "Why don't you go trick-and-treating _inside _the haunted house?"

Galinda's eyes lit up. "Ooh, Elphie, that's a _great _idea!" she said, beaming at her roommate once again. "We could totally do that!"

Ryyrrika laughed. "Let's go, then!"

* * *

><p>They stopped in front of the haunted house, looking up at it with mixed emotions.<p>

"Cool," Ryyrrika said with an appreciative smile at Fiyero, who returned it with a grin of his own.

"This is amazing," Elphaba muttered as she tilted her head to the side, studying the house. "Look at those peculiar stone patterns around the windows – this house must be at least a hundred years old. The architecture –"

"Just 'this is amazing' will do, Elphie," Galinda said in a high voice. "And for the record: I don't think this is amazing at all. I think it's creepy."

She looked at the others. Ryyrrika and Fiyero were still grinning, Elphaba's eyes were shining, and Nessarose looked totally in awe. She couldn't read Boq's expression due to the sheet on his head.

"Come on, Galinda," Fiyero said, squeezing her shoulder. "It'll be awesome."

They entered the house and were approached by a few people dressed in Halloween costumes. Before they could say anything, however, Galinda leapt forward and shouted, "Trick or treat!"

Fiyero chuckled. Elphaba rolled her eyes.

They were led over to where the ride began. The carts could only hold two people each, so Elphaba and Fiyero decided to go first. Behind them came Nessarose and Ryyrrika, followed by Galinda and Boq, who both appeared to be equally scared – even though Boq could not deny the fact that he was loving the way Galinda clutched his arm.

The ride began, leading Elphaba and Fiyero through different rooms of the house where ghosts, skeletons, and other scary creatures were displayed. A few staff members of the house tried to scare them, which didn't really work.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Fiyero asked when he took in the look on his girlfriend's face.

"Of course!" She pointed at something in the upper corner. "Look at all the detail! Not to mention the artwork hanging around here – I think those paintings must be at least as old as the rest of this house. This is incredible." She looked at him a bit uncertainly. "Isn't this incredible?"

He laughed and kissed her nose. "You're incredible."

She blushed and he kissed her, which was basically how they spent the rest of the ride. Nessarose and Ryyrrika likewise enjoyed themselves, the former leaning against the latter, him with his arm around her.

Galinda and Boq, however, were not having a great time.

"Look at that skeleton," Galinda whispered, hiding behind Boq and peering over his shoulder. "It's so creepy."

"D-Don't worry, M-Miss Galinda," he said, trying to sound braver than he felt. "I will protect you."

"Boo!" a zombie suddenly shouted at them and they both screeched in fear.

"Boq!" Galinda wailed, clawing at his arm. "You were supposed to protect me! That thing nearly gave my heart an attack!"

He opened his mouth to correct her and then closed it again, figuring him correcting her language wouldn't really help her fall in love with him.

After the ride, Ryyrrika suggested they explore the house, which the others (some of them hesitantly) agreed to. Galinda and Boq pounced on every person they saw, yelling, "Trick or treat!", which eventually did earn them a pretty impressive bag filled with candy.

At some point, Boq disappeared to use the bathroom, while the others were walking through a hallway.

"Can we go home now?" Galinda whined. "I'm scared. I want to go home. Elphie?"

"Just a minute, Glin," the green girl said absent-mindedly, studying a painting. She peered into the room beyond and held her breath. "Look at that antique piano!" She rushed into the room, Fiyero on her heels.

Galinda sighed irritably. "Great." She plopped down onto a bench, sulking.

"We're just going to look over here," Nessarose said, wheeling herself into a room with Ryyrrika following her.

"Sure," Galinda began, only to realise that she had been left alone completely. "Um… guys?" She glanced around her skittishly, blinking in the dim light. "Guys? This isn't funny!"

She leapt to her feet and rushed into the room Elphaba and Fiyero had disappeared into, but she didn't see them anywhere. Little did she know they were actually hiding behind the curtain, Fiyero with his hand over Elphaba's mouth.

She shook him off. "Don't you think this is a little mean?" she whispered to him. "She's already terrified."

Fiyero grinned. "It's Halloween, Fae. Come on." He bumped his nose against hers. "And besides – scaring Galinda is just so much fun."

"But she's really scared." Elphaba made to appear from behind the curtain, but Fiyero pulled her back.

"Don't spoil the fun." He started making ghost noises.

Galinda, hearing the sounds and whispers, grew even more frightened and ran back into the hallway, storming into the room she had last seen Nessa and Ryyrrika in, but they were nowhere to be found, either. She glanced around her suspiciously, studying every corner of the room.

"Nessa?" she called, her voice shrill. "Elphie? Come on, where are you?" She peered behind a curtain and looked at a wardrobe, hesitating for a moment, but she was afraid to open it. "Guys?"

"In here, Galinda!" she heard Nessarose and relief washed over her.

"Where?" she called.

A sudden noise made her jump and she slowly backed away from the room, back into the hallway. From behind her, she suddenly heard, "Boo!" and then she bumped into someone.

"_Aaaah!_" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, whirling around and starting to hit her attacker, who appeared to be a ghost, with her purse. It took her five hits to finally realise that it was Boq she was slapping.

"Wha-" she breathed and he looked at her with wide eyes.

"What did you _do_?!" she screeched, resuming her slapping. "You scared me to death! Why did you creep up on me like that?"

"I didn't creep up on you!" he protested, trying to dodge her purse. "I just returned from the bathroom and heard you calling, and I came to see if you were alright!"

"Thanks to you I was almost deadified!" she screamed at him.

Meanwhile the others had run back into the hallway as well, alarmed by the noise.

"Galinda?" Nessarose asked. "What's going on?"

"You were all gone," Galinda said, on the verge of tears, "and then you called back to me but then I heard a noise and I got scared, and then Boq tried to scare me!"

"I didn't!" he protested. "I just – ah!" He held up his hands to protect his face once more from Galinda's purse.

"The noise was my fault," Ryyrrika said apologetically. "I knocked over a chair."

"And it was my fault that you couldn't find us," Fiyero admitted. "I made Fae hide behind the curtain with me and I made those creepy sounds to mess with you."

"Who shouted 'boo' at me just now?" Galinda demanded shrilly.

Fiyero grimaced and raised his hand, earning himself a few slaps of Galinda's purse.

"I'm sorry, Glin," Elphaba said guiltily, but Galinda waved her away.

"It's not your fault," she said. She narrowed her eyes slowly, glaring first at Ryyrrika, then at Fiyero, and then at Boq. "It's _theirs_."

"Galinda –" Nessa began, but the blonde was clearly furious.

"I," she hissed, jabbing her finger into Fiyero's chest, "am not talking to you – _any _of you three – _ever _again."

"M-Miss G-Galinda, I'm s-sorry –"

"No!" she shouted, hitting Boq once more. "It's too late for that! You're _horrible_! All three of you! _All men are horrible!_ I'm sorry, Elphie, Nessa. I'm going home now."

"Galinda, wait!" Elphaba said, running after her friend, but not before sending a death glare in Fiyero's direction. He gulped.

Ryyrrika was looking pale. "I'm sorry, Nessa," he apologised to the girl. "I didn't mean…"

"I know." Nessarose smiled at him. "Don't worry, Ryyrrika. She'll come around." She looked down the hallway. "But for now I think I should go after them." With that, she followed her sister and Galinda.

The boys shared a sheepish look.

"Well," Fiyero said finally, sighing. "This is going to take a lot of chocolate and flattering to make right again."

The others could only agree.


	4. Friendship and forgiveness

**AN: Hi, everyone! Sorry this is two weeks late...blame Maddy. Her prompt for this one-shot was... "Galinda throws a Halloween party and Elphaba and Nessa help her with the preparations. Meanwhile the three boys try to make it up to Galinda, but that is easier said than done." Maddy, do you know how hard it is to make Galinda forgive THREE boys in one chapter? Don't worry, I still love you. ;)**

**Anyway, thankyou all for reading and reviewing, etc. Hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween - or last day of october, whichever you celebrate - and we'll see you next time!**

**Elizabeth. xx**

**P.S. I've been having a lot of trouble with line breaks recently, so there are one or two places where there should be a line break, but it isn't showing up. It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out those places, however.**

* * *

><p><strong>Friendship and forgiveness<strong>

"Now," Galinda said, checking over her list, "we've got the OzDust hired, we've got the band hired, we've got the decoration all sorted…we just have to put those up and sent out the invitations. And then we get to choose our costumes!"

"Galinda," Elphaba said patiently from where she sat on her bed, naming envelopes, "we've already had a Halloween party. Why must we have another one?"

"Because," Galinda replied in exasperation, "that was just the campus one. This one is going to be even better!"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think that?"

"Because I" – Galinda gestured to herself dramatically – "am organizing it. Which means the jerks aren't invited."

"And which jerks would those be?" questioned Elphaba.

"Anyone I don't like."

"Which includes Fiyero, Boq and Ryrrikka, right?"

"Right."

Elphaba sighed. "Galinda, why don't you just forgive them? They've already apologized a thousand times – they're sincerely sorry."

Galinda sniffed. "They were mean to me. I don't like people who are mean to me. What they did is unforgiveable."

"Well, I guess I can understand you being angry at Fiyero," Elphaba acknowledged, "and believe me, I'm quite angry with him about that myself; but Boq didn't intend to scare you, and Ryrrikka knocking over that chair was a genuine accident. Can't you see that?"

Galinda gave another sniff.

"Or don't you _want_ to see it? Is that it?"

"When you've finished naming the envelopes," Galinda asked her, ignoring Elphaba's question, "would you mind helping Nessa out with the posters?"

"_Posters_?" Elphaba questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I thought this thing was by invitation-only? Or have I just wasted five hours naming envelopes for no reason?"

"Yes, it's invitation-only."

"Then why –?"

"Don't worry, Elphie, the posters are going to say it's invitation-only. Just to make sure no-one gate-crashes. And then we can put an article in the newspaper to show people what an Ozmazifying party they missed. And all because they're not friends with me." Galinda flipped her hair.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Galinda opened it to admit Nessarose.

"I just came to run the poster design past you," Nessarose said, wheeling herself into the room. She held up a piece of A3 cardboard. "Is this what you wanted?"

Galinda clasped her hands together and squealed. "Oooh, Nessa, that's perfect!"

"That looks really nice, Nessie," Elphaba agreed. She turned to Galinda. "Looks like she won't need my help, afterall."

"Oh, no, you don't," Galinda said, grabbing onto Elphaba's arm as the green girl reached for a textbook. "You're not getting out of it that easily. Nessa will still need your help colouring the posters, won't you, Nessa?"

Elphaba's eyes widened. "You want us to colour that by hand?"

Galinda shrugged. "You can paint it, if you like. I don't care. Just so long as you use the right colours so the printers know exactly what shade I want."

Elphaba's eyes widened further. "You mean we're going to all this trouble to make posters that aren't even going to be displayed?"

"Now you just go with Nessa," Galinda said, ushering the two girls out of the door, "and try not to use _too_ much black."

"Galin-"

"Bye." Galinda shut the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Now to organize the catering.

* * *

><p>"So what do we do?" asked Boq glumly.<p>

"We think up a plan."

Ryrrikka looked at Fiyero cautiously. "I'm not sure I trust your plans."

Fiyero patted Ryrrikka's shoulder. "You can trust me. My plans always work out."

"Yeah," Boq snorted, "look how well your last plan worked out."

Fiyero shot him a glare. "Okay, point taken," he said defensively, "but I have managed to make things up to Elphaba before, remember? It's not exactly the easiest thing in the world, making up with Elphaba. Galinda is a whole lot simpler in that respect."

"How so?" asked Ryrrikka.

Fiyero shrugged. "She loves to be bought things. Showered with gifts. Clothes, perfumes…that sort of thing. Lots of pink."

Ryrrikka raised his eyebrow. "Is that really the way to Galinda's heart?"

Fiyero grinned at Boq, who blushed. "It's the best chance we've got. I've just got to figure out how to get Fae to forgive me _this_ time." He frowned and slumped down in his seat, chin in his hands.

"Which reminds me, what's the best way to get Nessa to forgive me?" Ryrrikka asked Boq.

"Uh…"

"He wouldn't know," Fiyero said. "Every time Nessa was angry at him, it took Elphaba forever to convince her it either wasn't Boq's fault or it wasn't worth fighting over."

"Oh." Ryrrikka looked down glumly.

"Look, I'll see if I can get Elphaba to work her magic on her again. Not literally," Fiyero added when Ryrrikka shot him a look of pure alarm.

"I thought you said Elphaba was mad at you?" Boq questioned.

Fiyero grimaced. "Uh, yeah. That's why it might take some time. But I promise, once we're on good terms again, I'll ask her to say something to Nessa."

"That's not really fair, you know," Boq pointed out. "What Ryrrikka and I did was by accident. What you did was on purpose. Do you really think you're the one with a better chance of forgiveness?"

"No," Fiyero cried in frustration, standing up and throwing his hands in the air, "not really. Have you any better ideas?"

Boq shrunk back at Fiyero's outburst and timidly shook his head.

Fiyero ran a hand through his messy hair and expelled a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Boq, I'm just really…frustrated at the moment."

As Fiyero left the room, Boq and Ryrrikka exchanged a glance.

"He seems awfully stressed about this," Ryrrikka commented.

"I think he's probably beating himself up a bit," Boq replied.

"About scaring Galinda?"

"No, about making Elphaba mad at him. As far as I know, it's been a while since they last fought, and I think he probably was proud at himself for managing not to make her angry," Boq explained. "And then this happens. He always has to work so hard to earn Elphaba's forgiveness, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if he's run out of ideas by now."

* * *

><p>"Why do we have to colour all these things?" Elphaba grumbled as she glowered at the orange paint that had bled into the black. "I'm no good at this stuff."<p>

"What Galinda wants –"

"Galinda gets," Elphaba finished. "I know. It's just so…"

"Annoying?" Nessarose suggested.

"Yeah."

"Uh-oh," Nessarose whispered, glancing towards the doorway, "watch out."

"Why?"

"Elphaba?"

Elphaba sighed. "Go away, Fiyero."

Fiyero tentatively took a few steps towards the two girls. "Elphaba, can I talk to you for a moment, please?"

"What part of 'go away' do you not understand?"

"Please?"

"No."

"I'm sorry," Fiyero said, evidently hoping that would make her listen.

"Elphaba," Nessarose said softly, "why don't you just talk to him?"

Elphaba snorted. "That's rich, coming from you. Why don't you talk to Ryrrikka? What he did was just an accident, afterall. Unlike Fiyero," she muttered.

"But –"

"You know," Elphaba said casually, "I remember a time when you were ready to kill Galinda."

Nessarose has the decency to blush.

"Who stopped you then?"

"Ryrrikka."

Elphaba sat back in satisfaction. "Well, then. Talk to him."

Nessarose bit her lip. "I…"

"Elphaba? Please…" pleaded Fiyero.

"Look," Elphaba bargained with her sister, ignoring her boyfriend, "I'll talk to Fiyero if you talk to Ryrrikka. Deal?"

Nessarose hesitated, before giving a tiny nod. "Okay," she agreed meekly.

"Well, off you go then," Elphaba said, waving her away.

With a sigh, Nessarose put down her paintbrush and wheeled herself out of the classroom.

Elphaba crossed her arms and turned to face Fiyero. "Talk."

"I'm sorry."

"Is that all you came to say? Because I think I recall you already saying that."

Fiyero sighed. "I'm really, really sorry, Elphaba. I didn't think…as per usual…same old story…yadda, yadda, yadda…you know how brainless I can be…"

Elphaba glared at him.

"How can I make it up to you and Galinda?"

"You know," began Elphaba, standing up and stepping menacingly towards her boyfriend, "I am getting so sick and tired of you always using your brainlessness as an excuse. It doesn't wash with me, Fiyero Tiggular!"

"I mean, I know it always sounds lame, but it's true! I just…don't think about the consequences." Fiyero shrugged pathetically.

Elphaba softened. "I know you don't," she said quietly. "But that's just it. It's not about you being brainless or anything, because you're not. I hate it when you say that about yourself, because you're _not_. You're very intelligent. And you do think. You just don't always take everything into consideration."

"Then… I'm confused. Are you angry at me or not?"

Elphaba shrugged. "I don't know. Yes and no, I guess."

"How so?"

"I'm not angry at what you did…but I'm angry that you did it to Galinda. You know how easily frightened she is."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's really Galinda you should be apologizing to."

"I've tried!" cried Fiyero, turning away and running a hand through his hair. "She won't listen to me! She keeps either insulting me or ignoring me altogether!"

"Can you blame her?" Elphaba asked pointedly.

"No, but…oh, hell." Fiyero growled at himself in frustration. "Why do I always have to play silly pranks on people? Why can't I just be…be…"

"Considerate?" Elphaba suggested, putting her hand on his arm.

Fiyero's shoulders slumped. "Yeah."

"I don't know." Elphaba pulled him around to face her. "But I still love you."

"Even when you're mad at me?"

Elphaba chuckled. "Yes, even when I'm mad at you. And then I sometimes get mad at myself for still loving you when I'm supposed to be angry with you, but I can't help it."

Fiyero finally gave a small smile. "I'm glad." He paused. "Would I be pushing it if I asked for a kiss? I've kind of missed them the last few days."

"So have I," admitted Elphaba, leaning up to gently brush Fiyero's lips with her own. "Better?"

"Much. Now will you please help me obtain Galinda's forgiveness?"

"Probably a good idea if we're to stay together." Elphaba took Fiyero's hand as they began to walk outside.

"Oh, and will you please speak to Nessa about forgiving Ryrrikka?"

"I sent her off to speak to him when you came along," Elphaba said. "Hopefully, she's actually done some listening by now. I'm more worried about Boq."

Fiyero grimaced. "Yeah, poor guy. Glad I'm not in his shoes right now. He probably thinks he's blown his chance with Galinda."

"If we don't do something soon," said Elphaba seriously, "he probably has."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is going to work?" Nessarose asked.<p>

"Nope," Elphaba said calmly. "But this is the best chance we've got."

"Come on, Nessa," said Ryrrikka, "we can only try."

"So, if it's successful, then Boq tries to get her to forgive him, right?" questioned Nessarose.

"Right." Elphaba gave a nod. "And then we work on _his_ forgiveness," she added, throwing a look at Fiyero, who gave a sheepish smile.

"And if it _isn't_ successful?"

"Then we think up a Plan B."

Nessarose raised her eyebrow. "I don't think this is your best work, Fabala."

"Hey, it's Galinda we're talking about here," Elphaba argued. "No-one can do their best work when Galinda is involved."

Fiyero snorted. "So true."

Elphaba glared at him. "Quiet, you."

Fiyero shut his mouth.

"Okay, so Galinda's in your room, right?" Ryrrikka looked at Elphaba for confirmation.

The green girl nodded. "Right."

"What do I say?" Nessarose asked.

"Just play it by ear," Elphaba told her. "But remember what the goal is."

"To get Galinda to forgive Ryrrikka without making her mad."

As the couple headed for Elphaba and Galinda's shared dorm room, Fiyero called after them, "Good luck!"

Boq nodded his agreement. "They'll need it."

* * *

><p>Galinda was just choosing her outfit for her Halloween party when there was a knock on the door. With a sigh, she opened the door to find Nessarose on the other side. "Oh, hi, Nessa. Come in."<p>

"I just came to ask your opinion on the colours Fabala and I used on the posters. Are they alright?"

But Galinda wasn't concentrating on the posters. "Oh, no," she said firmly, shaking her head. "_He_ is _not_ to come into this room, you understand? Get out," she told Ryrrikka.

"Galinda, please," Nessarose pleaded with her quietly. "He didn't mean you any harm. He didn't knock over that chair on purpose. It was an accident."

"How do you know?" Galinda shrieked, getting worked up.

"I was there," Nessarose reminded her drily. "Besides, he wouldn't do that to anyone. Would you, Ryrrikka?"

Ryrrikka shook his head but didn't yet take a chance on speaking.

"Please, Galinda," Nessarose beseeched her. "It's awkward being on good terms with you both but you not being on good terms with my boyfriend. Please?"

Galinda sat down on her bed for a moment to think it over. Realizing that Nessarose was probably right, she nodded her head slowly. "Okay, Ryrrikka, I'll forgive you. On one condition."

"I promise to try to be more careful in the future," Ryrrikka rushed in. "I'll try not to knock over any more furniture or –"

"That's not exactly what I had in mind," Galinda interrupted, "though that is very sweet of you, so thankyou." She stood and kissed Ryrrikka on the cheek.

Nessarose clenched her fists before remembering that she should stay calm because it wasn't Ryrrikka kissing Galinda.

"No, what I meant," continued Galinda, "was that I will forgive you if you help me organize my party." She smiled prettily and fluttered her eyelashes. "Please?"

Ryrrikka looked at Nessarose, who rolled her eyes and nodded. The former looked back at Galinda. "Certainly. I'll do anything I can."

Galinda grinned and clapped her hands together. "Thankyou, Rika!"

Nessarose rolled her eyes again.

"No, thank_you_ for forgiving me," Ryrrikka told her seriously.

"Yes, Galinda, thankyou," Nessarose added.

"Oh, go on," Galinda said with a giggle. "It's hard to refuse you anything, Nessa – you should know that by now!"

"Ummm…"

Galinda looked up. "What is it?"

"While we're here…and on the subject…"

A suspicious expression cast its shadows over Galinda's face. "No, I have told Elphie a million times, I will not forgive Fiyero. Not even if he kneels, asks, begs, gravels –"

"Grovels," Ryrrikka corrected quietly.

"– I don't care what he does – or doesn't – the answer is still no."

"Are you quite done?" Nessarose asked.

Galinda looked at her.

"Good. Because I wasn't going to say anything about Fiyero; I was going to ask about Boq."

Confused took control of Galinda's expression this time. "Boq?"

"Yes, you know, the Munchkin you're angry at for scaring you by appearing behind you when he didn't actually mean to scare you at all?" Nessarose prompted her.

"Oh, Biq! Oh, I'm not angry at him."

Nessarose and Ryrrikka looked blankly at each other before turning to stare at Galinda.

"Come again?" Ryrrikka asked.

"I'm not angry with him," Galinda repeated.

"Since when?" Nessarose asked.

Galinda shrugged. "Well, I admit I was quite angry with him when it happened, but the next morning, I reflected back on the incident and really, looking at that hurt expression…I realized I jumped to the wrong conclusion. So I forgived him."

"Forgave," Ryrrikka corrected, a bit louder this time.

Nessarose's good mood quickly dissipated. "For goodness' sake Galinda!" she exploded. "Boq thinks you're still furious with him! We all did! You could have told the poor boy!"

Galinda blinked. "Why? I thought he knew?"

Nessarose threw her hands up in the air, before wheeling herself out of the room. "Honestly, Galinda!"

Galinda turned to Ryrrikka. "What did I say?"

Ryrrikka simply shook his head at her and followed his girlfriend.

* * *

><p>"She <em>what<em>?!" Elphaba exploded.

"I took a chance and asked her to forgive Boq, except it turns out she hasn't been mad with him since the morning after it happened!" Nessarose fumed.

"She could have at least had the decency to let him know that!" Elphaba spluttered.

"That's what I said," Nessarose informed her, "but she just doesn't seem to get it."

"But when we brought it up earlier, she never said anything about Boq! I mean, we _told_ her that he didn't intend to scare her, but she didn't say anything then about having already forgiven him. She could have at least said something!"

"Wait, I'm confused," Fiyero piped up. "Does this mean we don't have to get Galinda to forgive Boq?"

"Seems so," Ryrrikka confirmed.

"I'm forgiven?" Boq asked in wonder, his face lighting up.

"That's great!" Fiyero said with a grin. "Now we just have to get her to forgive me!"

Elphaba looked at Fiyero pointedly, and his expression quickly dropped.

"Yeah, that's not going to be exactly easy, is it?"

Elphaba shook her head at him.

Fiyero sighed. "Damn. So what do we do about it?"

"You could play the old 'this is awkward' card," Nessarose suggested to Elphaba. "That's what I did. I made sure Galinda knew how I uncomfortable it felt being stuck in the middle."

Elphaba inclined her head in acknowledgement of the idea. "Thanks, but I have a feeling it's going to take a lot more than that to get this to happen. She'll probably just say she's sorry she's making her best friend uncomfortable, but really, can't I see that what my stupid boyfriend did was simply unforgiveable?"

"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Fiyero protested.

"I never said you were," Elphaba told him calmly. "But that seems to be Galinda's opinion of you at the moment."

"Oh." Fiyero thought for a moment. "I could always tell her it was payback for turning me into a reindeer."

Elphaba, Nessarose and Boq stared at him, before chorusing, "Bad idea."

Ryrrikka simply looked confused. "Is this something I should know about?"

"You don't want to know," Nessarose told him, just as Elphaba explained, "Galinda turned him into a reindeer just before Lurlinemas last year."

"Why?" Ryrrikka asked. "What did he do?"

"What do you mean, what did I do?" Fiyero cried indignantly. "I didn't do anything!"

"To be fair, it was an accident," Elphaba said, her lips curling into a smile as she remembered the incident.

"Stop your smirking, Thropp," Fiyero growled.

"Or what, Tiggular?" Elphaba challenged.

"Or I'll pin you to the bed and –"

"Um, Fiyero?" Boq interrupted. "You might want to stop there."

Fiyero glanced around sheepishly as Elphaba reddened. "Uh, yeah. Good idea. Thanks, Boq." The prince rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm not so sure I want to help Fiyero now," Nessarose announced primly, heading out of the room. "Come along, Ryrrikka."

Ryrrikka followed, and the rest of the group could see that he was trying not to snigger.

As soon as they were gone, Elphaba turned to her boyfriend. "Thanks a bunch Fiyero – now my sister thinks we're having sex. That's just great."

Fiyero shrugged. "Who cares what she thinks? It's none of her business."

"She's my sister! _I_ care what she thinks – especially if what she thinks isn't the truth!"

"Um, guys?" Boq gave a small, awkward wave. "Still here, remember?"

Elphaba sighed. "Sorry, Boq. I'll have to go explain Fiyero's little joke to my sister, anyway. See you later."

"What, no kiss?" Fiyero cried.

Elphaba glared at him. "Right now, I'm not too sure you deserve one."

* * *

><p>Nessarose looked at Elphaba suspiciously. "Are you sure there's nothing like that going on?"<p>

Elphaba gave a frustrated sigh. "I should think I would know if there were. Look, Nessie, I'm telling you the truth! We've _never_ done anything like that, okay? Please believe me."

Nessarose still looked unsure. "You'd tell me if you did, right?"

"If ever we do, I'll tell you, okay? But it's not likely it will ever happen. Please, Nessie?"

"Well…okay, I'll help you."

Elphaba sighed again, this time with relief. "Thankyou."

"So what's the plan?"

"You and your gorgeous eyes pleading with Galinda, and me with my non-existent acting skills."

Nessarose frowned. "Huh?"

Elphaba drew up a chair and sat down opposite her sister. "Okay, I go around pretending to be a mopey and stuff, right? And then gradually I started spending more time with Fiyero than with Galinda, and that's where you come in."

"What do I do?"

"You tactfully bring the issue up with Galinda and beg her to forgive Fiyero."

"Wait, what issue?"

"Me."

Nessarose's frown deepened. "I don't get it."

"Well, I'm going to be acting unhappy, so then you can tell Galinda how concerned you are about me and confess your 'suspicion' that it's because of the whole her-not-forgiving-Fiyero thing – except you'd say it tactfully, of course – and about how you hate seeing me this unhappy when you'd finally thought I'd found happiness, blah, blah, blah…"

Nessarose raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"It's a sob story," Elphaba said, shrugging. "That's the beauty of it. She can never say no to a good sob story. I just hope my acting holds up."

* * *

><p>"Aw, come on, Galinda," Nessarose whined as she browsed the array of Halloween costumes. "Haven't you noticed how down she's been lately? You're the one who lives with her."<p>

"Well, she has seemed a bit distant and moodified," Galinda admitted.

"Well, there you are, then," Nessarose said triumphantly, before quickly readjusting her voice to its normal level. "I thought she'd finally found happiness. But now…"

Galinda looked concerned. "Why, what's happened?"

Nessarose fought down a frustrated sigh. Trying to explain things to Galinda was really like trying to explain astrophysics to a baby – quite impossible at times.

"She didn't have another fight with that boyfriend of hers again and not tell me, did she?"

"No, Fabala did not have another fight with Fiyero. _You_ had a fight with Fiyero. A one-sided fight," Nessarose reminded her.

Galinda selected a dress and held it up against herself in the mirror with a shrug. "So?"

"Galinda, can't you see how unhappy it's making her?" Nessarose asked, beginning to get irritated.

"Well, if Fiyero _will_ –"

"Galinda, this has nothing to do with Fiyero, really!" Nessarose cried. "Okay, he can be an idiot at times and made a mistake – a mistake which just happened to frighten you. But he apologized and it's over now. It happened days ago. Surely you're not going to make Fabala choose between you and Fiyero? She's already feeling torn – I can see it in her eyes. She looks so sad. I might take her for granted at times," she admitted, "but I hate seeing my sister sad."

"You don't even seem to notice most of the time," Galinda bit back.

Nessarose huffed. "Which is my mistake, and one I'm trying to correct. There's no need for you to make the same mistake now."

"Fiyero –"

Nessarose decided it was time to pull out the big guns. "Did you know she's thinking seriously of skipping this party of yours?"

Galinda whirled around to stare at her, devastation written all over her face. "She wouldn't!"

"And with things going the way they are, I can't say I'd blame her." Nessarose spun her chair around and exited the store, leaving Galinda spluttering behind her.

* * *

><p>"Well?"<p>

Nessarose shook her head. "Sorry, Fabala. I did my best, but she wouldn't budge. I even resorted to saying you were considering not going to the party, but I don't know…she seems set on being angry with Fiyero."

Elphaba sat down and buried her head in her hands. "That's it," she announced, "I'm simply going to have to move out."

"What?" Nessarose cried. "And go where?"

"To Fiyero's… Wait," Elphaba said, holding up a hand before Nessarose could protest. "I have an even better idea."

"I should think just about anything would be better after that one," Nessarose muttered.

"It's worked before on Fiyero, it just might work again on Galinda…"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Elphaba stood up and began to pace the room. "Remember back in February, just before Valentine's Day?"

Nessarose grimaced. "Yeah."

"Well, remember how I got really angry with Fiyero?"

Having been preoccupied with her own issues at the time, Nessarose hadn't really witnessed it firsthand, but she did remember Elphaba hesitantly telling her about it afterwards. She nodded.

"And he wouldn't stop following me around, trying to apologize, so I decided the best way to avoid him would be to leave Shiz."

Nessarose looked doubtful. "And you want to try that again on Galinda?"

"It's the only thing I can think of that might bring Galinda to her senses. If she thinks she's going to lose a friend…"

"Worth a shot, I suppose," Nessarose reluctantly conceded.

"Any better ideas?"

Nessarose bit her lip.

"I thought not. Now if you'll excuse me…I've got a bit more acting to do…"

* * *

><p>"Elphie!" Galinda wailed, bouncing through the door. "You can't just –" She stopped short, eyeing Elphaba's suitcase on the bed. "What are you doing?"<p>

"Airing my suitcase. What does it look like?"

"Elphie…what's going on?"

"I'm leaving Shiz."

Galinda gasped and collapsed onto her bed. "_What_?! Why? No, Elphie, you can't do this to me! You can't just _leave_! You can't –"

"I," said Elphaba icily, "can do anything I damn well please. I'm an adult who is capable of making her own decisions. You might be my best friend, Galinda, but you don't own me."

"I never said I did!" screeched Galinda.

Elphaba sighed. "I'm sorry; I'm just a bit on edge right now. The sooner I'm out of here, the better."

"But why?!"

Elphaba didn't reply. Instead, she looked at the clock. "I'd better hurry – I don't want to run into Fiyero. He'll only try to stop me."

"Of course he will, Elphie! He's your boyfriend!"

"No, he's not."

Galinda stared at her, stunned. "What?" she whispered. "Why? What happened?"

Elphaba turned away and shrugged. "I don't want to lose you, Glin," she said quietly. "So I broke things off with Fiyero." She shoved some more things into her suitcase and closed the lid. "I'll write to you when I get home."

It was only when Elphaba was nearly to the door that Galinda managed to spring into action. In an instant, she was standing in front of Elphaba and grabbing the green girl's shoulders. "Elphie…why? I mean, you and Fiyero are so perfect together! Why did you go and do that?"

Elphaba looked down. "Friends are more important than boys, right?"

Galinda threw her arms around her friend. "Oh, Elphie! You shouldn't have done that! Fiyero loves you so much, and I know how much you love him, and… I can't believe you did that for me. But Elphie, you shouldn't have."

Elphaba closed her eyes. "Believe me, Galinda, I didn't want to. But what else could I do?"

Galinda pulled away and peered earnestly into Elphaba's face. "Oh, Elphie, I'm so sorry…I didn't realize how much this was affecting you… Look, don't leave Shiz, please. Just…go and tell Fiyero you want him back, and that I forgive him, and then…bring him here so I can apologize to you both. Deal?"

Elphaba twisted her mouth. "Are you sure? I mean, what he did _was_ rather mean, and…"

Galinda took Elphaba's hands in her own. "I'm sure. Nessa was right: he made a mistake. It's in the past. I don't want to cause my best friend any more difficulties."

To Galinda's shock, Elphaba looked to be on the verge of tears and she hugged the smaller girl; and when she spoke, her voice sounded clogged. "Thankyou, Galinda."

* * *

><p>Fiyero looked at his girlfriend in disbelief. "I still can't believe you went through all that for me."<p>

Elphaba shrugged. "I love you," she said simply.

"Yes, but…to do that to _Galinda_…. It was a little bit mean, you know."

"I know," Elphaba said, "and I feel really guilty over it, but…what else could I do? Reasonable discussion failed. A light guilt trip failed. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so… I had to do _something_. But don't you dare let slip what we did, or you're dead."

Fiyero held up his hands. "I won't, I swear." He pulled Elphaba against his side and wrapped her in his arms. "So everyone's okay now, right?"

Elphaba nodded. "Right. And we're hoping this never happens again, got it?"

Fiyero grimaced. "Got it."

"Good." She sighed. "What a Halloween this has been."

"Yeah. And it's not over yet."

"Do we have to go to the party?" Elphaba complained.

"Well, now that I've been forgiven, we don't want to get on the wrong side of Galinda again for a while."

Elphaba groaned.

"Will this make it better?" Fiyero asked, leaning down to kiss her.

Elphaba leant into him happily. "Mmm…much."


End file.
